… I had a hard time coming up with a second blog post for this week. 
Could it have been the distraction of trying to learn Word Press and also find a new blog reader?
Or possibly writing new words (2 chapters!) in my WIP after at least two weeks of producing nothing?
Twitter was pretty riveting, too. I followed the #YesAllWomen hashtag for days, watching the solidarity develop between women and also some men who were learning something they’d never understood before. (I know there were also trolls, but I ignored them. They hate that.)
I kept telling myself that I needed to sit down and write Wednesday’s post, but my brain felt like a squirrel scampering up and down trees without really getting anywhere.
Perhaps my time was better spent outdoors getting some exercise, biking with my husband. Northern Delaware has some nice places for biking. (I live in Pennsylvania, but so close to Delaware I can practically spit over the line.)
Many of the roads have wide bike lanes, but I’m nervous biking along a highway. My balance isn’t that good. (Three weeks ago I managed to fall over into a ditch with my bike  even though I was standing still at the time.) Plus I don’t trust the drivers.
I prefer the trail in Newark, Delaware that’s bordered by a park on one side and the Amtrak rails on the other.
There’s also a new trail along the C&D Canal near Port George, Delaware. (That’s the canal connecting the Chesapeake and Delaware Rivers.)
I biked eleven miles along the canal on Monday. That’s a lot for me. And I didn’t fall into a ditch OR the canal, so that was good.
Plus I got some brainstorming in for my WIP. Even better.
I know those days when it feels like my brain can’t help me write a single sentence not to mention a whole blog post. Going outside, doing something fun always helps. I love bike rides to unwind and relax, I even do it for half an hour after work before I start studying so I have new energy for it. So awesome you got to bike 11 miles! That’s a lot 🙂 Hope the rest of your week will be wonderful.
Beate, I don’t exercise nearly enough. I hope that when I am retired from teaching (starting this July!) I will make the commitment to exercise more.
Sounds like an awesome bike ride. Sounds like you had lots of other things going on. I need to get back onto Twitter as soon as life slows down a bit.
Last weekend, Twitter was very enlightening.
Hi Dianne .. you’ve got lots going on .. but that bike ride sounds wonderful and liberating …
Happy learning and all things blogging and writing .. cheers Hilary
Hilary, I admit I was a little sore the next day, even without falling over.
Congrats on not falling into the canal! That might have been unpleasant.
WP does have a bit of a learning curve. I came from Blogger too and it was like learning a foreign language!
Yes, it’s a little tricky. And I don’t want to mess up the design created by the website designers, so there are some things I am hesitant to touch.
Next time you don’t have a good blog post try the bullet point method. It is actually very helpful in sorting out your mental meanderings.
11 miles. Wow. And you didn’t fall into a ditch. I’d say this has been a GREAT week.
But YOUR bullet points came together into a perfect essay! Tricky, that!
I hear you on the balance – mine used to be better! Dammit. And exercise definitely gets the gears churning in my head. I did a lot of walking this past weekend AND mowed my lawn. Now, where’s my gold star!
It was a gorgeous weekend for being outside, but I wouldn’t enjoy mowing the lawn.
Sometimes it’s hard to get back into writing once you’ve had a break – forced or otherwise. I haven’t been at my computer in days- I’m using my writing playlist and podcasts to help me get back in the groove.
I LOVE the look of your new site! Word press is awesome. I also like Feedly for my blog reader – shameful self promotion here: http://www.juliatomiak.com/2013/06/how-to-follow-blogs-after-google-reader-disappears/
Good luck!
Julia,
I have loaded most of my Blogger-followed blogs onto Feedly now, and I’ve kinda sorta figured out how to use it. But I haven’t had much time to explore. I’ll have to check out your post.
I did it!!! Your new site is gorgeous and so professional…if not erm…entirely comment user friendly. But I’m sure I’m probably the only one who had to tweet you to figure out how to comment! 😉
My designers fixed that problem! Now there’s a comment button at the top.
I always say it’s better that your brain be occupied with writing your book as opposed to blog posts. Plus it sounds like you’ve been busy. Nice new digs, by the way. Very streamlined and good looking. 🙂
It was telling to me that I produced 2 new chapters over a long weekend when I can hardly write a sentence during the school week.
Congrats on the new blog! Sometimes it’s good to pull away from your writing at least a little. I think the whole #yesallwomen movement is interesting because there are still many men who are blind to the whole thing, or maybe they like how things are? I agree though that writing books is much more important than blog posts 🙂
Regarding the men — a little of both. Some women posted screenshots of some very ugly comments and even threats. Which pretty much proved the point of #yesallwomen.
Love the new blog! Congratulations!
My daughter has bike issues as well. Poor thing. I used to think it was my fault for being a bad teacher, but she is just challenged by steering and moving forward at the same time. This does not bode well for driver’s training. 🙂
Tess, Perhaps she’ll find that completely different?
I’m actually not a bad skier. But the bike and I have some issues.
P.S. My younger daughter latched onto The Eighth Day before I could…and LOVES IT! Don’t know when I’ll get my chance. Trying to be patient as I wait for her to finish.
Yay! I never get tired of hearing a kid likes my book! If she wants some temp tattoos to go along with the story, let me know. I’ll mail her some. (I’m not responsible for the development of any magical powers, though …)
She would LOVE some temp tattoos. She just showed me the drawing from the book the other day, and I said, “Hey, Dianne has some just like that!”
Biking is great exercise. Yeah, avoid the major roads. Too many careless drivers.
I have a friend whose father survived a NYC orphanage, the orphan trains, escaping a situation of forced labor, and WWII.
Then in his 60’s he was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding a bike.
I just noticed I haven’t seen your blog update in a while – and then realized I totally spaced out putting in your new addy in my blogroll! D’oh! Pardon my Homer moment. You’re safely in the blogroll now. Have a great weekend! 🙂
Thanks, Lexa! I’m still getting used to this new blog and using Feedly as my blog reader program. I’m probably missing things too.
I decided not to write this morning because my boys and husband had a camping trip planned. But now that they finally got on the road, I’m kind of used up. I think lots of sleep and an early wake up is a better idea.
Thanks for adding the comment button and putting it in an obvious spot! 🙂
My designers, the Biondos, are great. I expressed the problem and they found a solution. I highly recommend them!
There’s so much to do right now; it’s hard to concentrate on blogging (much better for those winter days 🙂 ). Biking on pathes and trails is much better than next to roads. The cars make me nervous too. Some pass to close. Some ignore your existence. Danger pure! Glad your having fun!
How fun that you go biking together! And what a gorgeous view! Enjoy the time outside and have a happy summer. 🙂
Dianne!
Nice new blog you got there. Sometimes being outside or doing exercise can clear the head. Sorry to hear you fell into a ditch though.
I got your swag! Thanks for sending it to me. I’ve been meaning to take a picture of what you sent with the book and send it to you to show you I got it. But I’ve been so busy over here trying to unpack still.
Anyway, I hope things are well with you.